The subject application is directed generally to calibration of color printers. The application is particularly applicable to calibration of color printers in accordance with a generated display output having an arrangement of color areas that correspond to that of a printout from which color measurements where taken.
Early printers were generally relegated to black and white output given the expense and complexity of generating color printouts. More recently, color printers, including inkjet printers, laser printers, and dye-based printers, have been more widely adopted as prices decreased and quality improved.
Physical characteristics of color printing devices, including device characteristics, media properties, or ink or toner characteristics, can significantly affect a quality of an output image. Output characteristics can vary between devices or in accordance with various consumables. Characteristics also vary over the life of a printing device. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a mechanism by which a printing device can be calibrated to as to accurately render color outputs.
Accurate printer calibration requires analysis of multiple colors, shades or tones, all of which must be accurately obtained by a feedback mechanism derived from an input of an actual printer output. Given the number of such outputs, it is difficult to verify that all required input was accurately received.